First Post – Online

A third of the planet’s agricultural land is at “high risk” of pesticide pollution from the lingering residue of chemical ingredients that can leach into water supplies and threaten biodiversity, according to research published Monday. The use of pesticides has soared globally as agricultural production has expanded, prompting growing fears over environmental damage and calls to cut hazardous chemical use. Researchers in Australia modelled pollution risk across 168 countries with data on the usage of 92 active pesticide ingredients and found “widespread global pesticide pollution risk”.

They highlighted several acutely vulnerable ecosystems in South Africa, China, India, Australia and Argentina, at the nexus of high pollution risk, high water scarcity and high biodiversity.

The Hindu BusinessLine – Online

The IIL Foundation, the CSR wing of agrochemical company Insecticides (India), has tied up with Foundation for Agriculture Sustainability and Transformation (FAST) to offer extension advice over a digital platform, which uses digital avenues like WhatsApp and YouTube.

The Digital Reach platform provides weather and pest infestation information regularly through a WhatsApp window. Besides, it will provide suggestions based on the information.

The IIL Foundation, the CSR wing of agrochemical company Insecticides (India), has tied up with Foundation for Agriculture Sustainability and Transformation (FAST) to offer extension advice over a digital platform, which uses digital avenues like WhatsApp and YouTube.

The Digital Reach platform provides weather and pest infestation information regularly through a WhatsApp ...

The Hindu – Online

Minister for Agriculture Singireddy Niranjan Reddy has stated that the government has allocated ₹15 crore for establishing an agricultural marketing intelligence research and analysis centre for guiding the farming community on raising the crops having demand in the market.

Of the allocated amount, the government has already released ₹6.5 crore for the purpose in advance. The task of establishing such a centre has been given to Ernst & Young to guide the centre by studying the market conditions at the national and international level for creating awareness among the farming community so that they could get good price to their produce.

The Times of India – Online

Former Bengal chief minister and CPM leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who had shelved his plan to set up a chemical hub at Nayachar following the Nandigram carnage in 2007, has appealed to voters — particularly in Singur and Nandigram — to vote against those who took Bengal down the slide in agriculture and industry.

“We have gone steps back in agriculture in the last 10 years There has been no major investment in industry during this time. Singur and Nandigram are caught in the silence of a graveyard. And those who scripted the evil drama in those days are now busy in mud-slinging,” Bhattacharjee said, without naming Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her once-lieutenant-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

Telangana Today – Online

Despite growth in the economy and the working age population in India, the participation of women in the labour force has been declining. This is an alarming trend when seen against the backdrop of increasing crime against women and widespread gender discrimination. At 21%, India has one of the lowest female participation rates in the workforce across the world. It is less than half the global average. No matter which cluster of countries one compares with — high income or low, highly indebted or least developed — India comes off worse. The dismally low labour force participation rate can be attributed, at least partially, to the restrictive cultural norms regarding women’s work, gender wage gap ...